literacy topics
Learning the Letter Names and Sounds
Learning the names of the letters of the alphabet, and the sounds they represent
is called the “alphabetic principle.”
“…the alphabetic principle is a critical bridge between hearing sounds in spoken words and the most common letters represented by those sounds” (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016, p. 119)
KNOWLEDGE OF LETTER NAMES AND SOUNDS
WHY
“Results reported by the National Early Literacy Panel (2008) show that alphabetic knowledge, or knowledge of letter names and sounds, is the strongest predictor of later literacy success in decoding, comprehension, and spelling” (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016, p. 116).
REFERENCES
Fountas, G. S. & Pinnell, I. C. (2009). When Readers Struggle: Teaching that works. Heinemann.
Liuzzo, J. M. & Hain, B. (1998). Institute for Multi-sensory Education: Sensational strategies for beginning readers. Parent Training Manual. Reading Venture Two.
Reutzel, D. R & Cooter, R. B. Jr. (2016). Strategies for Reading Assessment and Instruction in an Era of Common Core Standards: Helping Every Child Succeed. Pearson.
Retreived April 21, 2020 from https://www.fountasandpinnell.com/forum/messages?TopicID=677
Image credit: http://growingkinders.blogspot.com/2015/07/its-all-about-alphabetic-principle.html
DESCRIPTION
When teaching letter names, it is important to include both upper and lowercase letters.
Connect the letter name, and the associated sound, when writing and speaking about the letters:
Name the letter and sound clearly:
“This is the letter ‘B’.
‘B’ represents the sound /b/”.
Begin by teaching the consonants, since they are the most stable; they represent one sound, not many sounds. To start, use d, h, m, n, p, r, t, v, w.
Some letters are more difficult to learn than others.
This is because the names of some letters cue us to the associated sounds, while others do not.
For example, when we say the name of the letter “S” aloud, we can hear its associated sound, “essss“, and so it is easier to learn which sound it goes with.
When we say the letter “Y” aloud, its associated sound is not part of the name. For that reason it is harder to learn that “Y” represents the sound /y/.
For this reason, it is important to spend more time on letters like “Y” and “Q”, than letters like “S” and “M”.
(Reutzel& Cooter, 2016)
IDEAS FOR LEARNING
It is helpful to engage as many senses as possible when teaching letter names and sounds. In order to do this, you can create a multi-sensory experience for your child by using some sand or uncooked rice poured onto a plate.
Have your child form the letter with their pointer finger, in the rice, being sure that they start at the top, and go down.
As they write, they are to say the name of the letter.
Then after writing the letter, they are to underline from left to right, (since that is the direction we read in), and say the sound for the letter.
For example, while writing the letter a, the child begins with their finger resting at the top of the plate, and pulls back, around, up and down, while saying “A”. Then they underline the letter they have drawn, by making a line in the sand and saying the sound, /a/.
Have them repeat at least 4 times, tracing and underlining, saying, ” ‘A’ says /a/, ‘A’ says /a/” each time. (Liuzzo, 1998)
Play games in which the letters of the alphabet are all mixed up, and your child needs to put them in order again.
You can find interactive games like this, using the apps and websites listed below, under “Online Free Resources.”
WHAT TO AVOID
It is important to avoid too narrow of a focus, since learning the letter names and sounds is only one aspect of literacy.
For this reason, combine learning about the alphabet with other skills, such as learning about words, and their meanings, reading stories and discussing the events.
ONLINE FREE RESOURCES
Go to the following sites for free alphabet games:
www.learningplanet.com
www.abcya.com
www.letterland.com
On an iPad or tablet, try the following apps:
Alphabet ABCs
Alphabet Zoo
Alphabet Tracing
Alphabet Animals
THE VERBAL PATH
Fountas & Pinnell (2009) suggest helping children create a “verbal path” to support them in learning their alphabet.
When writing lowercase a, for example, the child can say the steps aloud, the same way, using the same language, each time they write the letter.
Example:
b – pull down, up, around
“Say to the child, ‘Listen to how I say words to help me. Say the words to help you make the letters'” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2020)
For a list of steps to say aloud, by letter, please click on this link.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/waysidees/specials/verbal_letters.pdf